Loved As You Are - An Ignatian Podcast

Today Gretchen Crowder shares with you the audio of an imaginative walk with Jesus through his death on the cross that was originally shared as a video on the Central and Southern Jesuit Province website as part of a Lenten Series for the 2024 Lenten Season. You can find the video and access the Lenten Series here: https://www.jesuitscentralsouthern.org/spirituality/lent-2024/ You can follow the Central and Southern Jesuit Province and learn more about the Society of Jesus by following @JesuitsUCS (X) or @jesuitscentralsouthern (Instagram) Much gratitude to the UCS Province communications team for the beautiful artwork for this series! ------ If you think you or someone you know has a story that would fit this podcast, please contact Gretchen Crowder at lovedasyouarepod@gmail.com You can find Gretchen @gdcrowder on social and @lovedasyouarepod on Instagram.

Today Gretchen Crowder shares with you the audio of a Colloquy with Jesus in the Garden that was originally shared as a video on the Central and Southern Jesuit Province website as part of a Lenten Series for the 2024 Lenten Season. You can find the video and access the Lenten Series here: https://www.jesuitscentralsouthern.org/spirituality/lent-2024/ You can follow the Central and Southern Jesuit Province and learn more about the Society of Jesus by following @JesuitsUCS (X) or @jesuitscentralsouthern (Instagram) Much gratitude to the UCS Province communications team for the beautiful artwork for this series! ------ If you think you or someone you know has a story that would fit this podcast, please contact Gretchen Crowder at lovedasyouarepod@gmail.com You can find Gretchen @gdcrowder on social and @lovedasyouarepod on Instagram.

Today Gretchen Crowder shares with you the audio of a reflection on the Beatitudes that was originally shared as a video on the Central and Southern Jesuit Province website as part of a Lenten Series for the 2024 Lenten Season. You can find the video and access the Lenten Series here: https://www.jesuitscentralsouthern.org/spirituality/lent-2024/ You can follow the Central and Southern Jesuit Province and learn more about the Society of Jesus by following @JesuitsUCS (X) or @jesuitscentralsouthern (Instagram) Much gratitude to the UCS Province communications team for the beautiful artwork for this series! ------ If you think you or someone you know has a story that would fit this podcast, please contact Gretchen Crowder at lovedasyouarepod@gmail.com You can find Gretchen @gdcrowder on social and @lovedasyouarepod on Instagram.

Today Gretchen Crowder shares with you the audio of a reflection on the next 6 stations of the cross that was originally shared as a video on the Central and Southern Jesuit Province website as part of a Lenten Series for the 2024 Lenten Season. You can find the video and access the Lenten Series here: https://www.jesuitscentralsouthern.org/spirituality/lent-2024/ You can follow the Central and Southern Jesuit Province and learn more about the Society of Jesus by following @JesuitsUCS (X) or @jesuitscentralsouthern (Instagram) Much gratitude to the UCS Province communications team for the beautiful artwork for this series! ------ If you think you or someone you know has a story that would fit this podcast, please contact Gretchen Crowder at lovedasyouarepod@gmail.com You can find Gretchen @gdcrowder on social and @lovedasyouarepod on Instagram.

Today Gretchen Crowder shares with you the audio of a reflection on the first 6 stations of the cross that was originally shared as a video on the Central and Southern Jesuit Province website as part of a Lenten Series for the 2024 Lenten Season. You can find the video and access the Lenten Series here: https://www.jesuitscentralsouthern.org/spirituality/lent-2024/ You can follow the Central and Southern Jesuit Province and learn more about the Society of Jesus by following @JesuitsUCS (X) or @jesuitscentralsouthern (Instagram) Much gratitude to the UCS Province communications team for the beautiful artwork for this series! ------ If you think you or someone you know has a story that would fit this podcast, please contact Gretchen Crowder at lovedasyouarepod@gmail.com You can find Gretchen @gdcrowder on social and @lovedasyouarepod on Instagram.

Today Gretchen Crowder shares with you the audio of a reflection and examen that were first shared as a video on the Central and Southern Jesuit Province website as part of a Lenten Series for the 2024 Lenten Season. This Examen is based on a contemporary version of the First Principle and Foundation of St. Ignatius by David L Fleming, S.J. You can find the video and access the Lenten Series here: https://www.jesuitscentralsouthern.org/spirituality/lent-2024/ You can follow the Central and Southern Jesuit Province and learn more about the Society of Jesus by following @JesuitsUCS (X) or @jesuitscentralsouthern (Instagram) Much gratitude to the UCS Province communications team for the beautiful artwork for this series! ------ If you think you or someone you know has a story that would fit this podcast, please contact Gretchen Crowder at lovedasyouarepod@gmail.com You can find Gretchen @gdcrowder on social and @lovedasyouarepod on Instagram.

Join Gretchen Crowder as she reflects on the unique combination of Ash Wednesday and Valentine's Day this year and invites you to join her on a journey this Lent. You can find all her Lenten Resources here: https://www.jesuitscentralsouthern.org/spirituality/lent-2024/

In this episode, Gretchen interviews Liz Angeli. Liz (she/her/hers) is a college professor, writer, spiritual director, and retreat leader. An Associate Professor of English at Marquette University, Liz has accompanied young adults through personal and professional transitions. At Marquette, she teaches a range of professional and technical writing classes and integrates elements of Ignatian discernment into them all. Her research interests include the overlaps of Ignatian discernment, humanities education, and career readiness. In her spiritual direction practice, she feels especially called to work with LGBTQIA+ seekers and those who are in the discernment process. Liz holds a PhD from Purdue University and a certificate in spiritual guidance from the Siena Retreat Center, and she is currently pursuing her MA in Counseling for Ministry at Loyola University Chicago's Institute of Pastoral Studies. You can learn more about her work at lizangeli.com. ---- If this episode hits home and you feel you have your own story to share, email Gretchen at . Follow along and contribute to the conversation @lovedasyouarepod on Instagram. Find more from Gretchen Crowder @gdcrowder as well as at gretchencrowder.com.

In this episode, Gretchen Crowder interviews Cathleen Falsani. Cathleen Falsani is a veteran, inveterate, and award-winning journalist specializing in the intersection of religion/faith/beliefs/spirituality and culture for more than two decades. Her work has taken her all over the world, always with her cameras and notebooks in tow, searching for enduring, transformational stories of the extraordinary in the ordinary (and the transcendent in the temporal) to share with the world. The author of several nonfiction books, she is an expert in her field and disciplines—contemporary religion and culture, grassroots spiritual trends, and public theology—bringing the eye of a trained observer to explorations of external adventure and internal geography. Cathleen is an accomplished columnist and memoirist in short and long form. She is able both to be calmly dispassionate and wildly vulnerable, depending on what is required to serve best the narrative in her storytelling. She aspires to be brave and honest with her audience, daring and kind with herself. You can find her at: falsani.com Sinners & Saints Creative @godgrrl on Instagram --- If this episode hits home and you feel you have your own story to share, email Gretchen at . Follow along and contribute to the conversation @lovedasyouarepod on Instagram. Find more from Gretchen Crowder @gdcrowder as well as at gretchencrowder.com.

In this episode, Gretchen Crowder interviews Becky Eldredge. Becky is an Ignatian-trained spiritual director, retreat facilitator, and author of two books: The Inner Chapel (Loyola Press, April 2020) and Busy Lives and Restless Souls (Loyola Press, March 2017). She leads a ministry that offers spiritual direction, resources, and retreats (virtual and in-person) rooted in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Passionate about Ignatian spirituality and teaching people how to pray and discern, Becky draws from over twenty years of ministry experience to help others make room for God in the busyness and invite them deeper in their walk with Christ. Becky currently lives in Baton Rouge, LA, where she writes and meets with men and women of all ages for monthly spiritual direction and leads people through the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. She leads days of reflections and retreats for dioceses, parishes, retreats houses and other ministry organizations. A growing part of her ministry is empowering others to use their gifts and voices to share the wisdom of Ignatian spirituality. In 2020, after eleven years of writing her blog solo, she invited a team of Ignatian writers to join her. The blog is now named Into the Deep. In 2023, Becky founded Ignatian Ministries, a home of accompaniment for all individuals. Ignatian Ministries accompanies people with retreats, resources, community, and more to help them grow deeper in faith and walk boldly with others. You can find her at: IgnatianMinistries.org BeckyEldredge.com @beldredge98 and @ignatianministries on social --- If this episode hits home and you feel you have your own story to share, email Gretchen at . Follow along and contribute to the conversation @lovedasyouarepod on Instagram. Find more from Gretchen Crowder @gdcrowder as well as at gretchencrowder.com.

During this episode, Gretchen Crowder shares a talk she recently gave to St. Thomas Aquinas Altar Society entitled Preparing Our Hearts for Advent by Leaning into and Internalizing our Belovedness. If you are looking for a great way to prepare for the upcoming Advent season a preparation that might just also be useful for this week's Thanksgiving celebration - check this episode out now! --- If this episode hits home and you feel you have your own story to share, email Gretchen at lovedasyouarepod@gmail.com. Follow along and contribute to the conversation @lovedasyouarepod on Instagram. Find more from Gretchen Crowder @gdcrowder as well as at gretchencrowder.com.

In this episode, Gretchen Crowder interviews Vinita Wright. Vinita Wright recently retired from a three-decade career as book editor, the last 22 years at Loyola Press, a Jesuit ministry in Chicago. She has worked with authors such as Kevin O’Brien, Mark Thibodeaux, James Martin, and the late William Barry. She is the author of three novels and various works of nonfiction, including Small Simple Ways: An Ignatian Daybook for Healthy Spiritual Living, The Art of Spiritual Writing, and most recently Set the World on Fire: a 4-Week Personal Retreat with the Female Doctors of the Church. Vinita and her husband, Jim, now reside in northwest Arkansas, where she continues to write, facilitate retreats on writing, creativity, and prayer, and serves her newest vocation as a spiritual director. She has written numerous articles for the website ignatianspirituality.com. You can find her books here. --- If this episode hits home and you feel you have your own story to share, email Gretchen at lovedasyouarepod@gmail.com. Follow along and contribute to the conversation @lovedasyouarepod on Instagram. Find more from Gretchen Crowder @gdcrowder as well as at gretchencrowder.com.

In this episode, Gretchen Crowder interviews Liz Aceves. Ignatian Spirituality has been enriching Liz Aceves’ spiritual journey since 2015. Liz has regularly contributed to Becky Eldredge’s Inner Chapel community, Into the Deep blog series, and is now leading the Ignatian Ministries Spiritual Book Club. One of her greatest sources of joy and community is facilitating the Inner Chapel Prayer group, surrounded by inspirational women. As a member of her parish’s Ignatian ministry, Liz supports virtual and in-person retreats for anyone wanting to grow in their relationship with God. Liz is a passionate Catholic school educator with a decade of experience teaching Spanish. Her love for working with children and teaching them about their faith and language has been a constant source of inspiration. She believes learning new languages is essential to fostering acceptance and understanding among people of different cultures. Liz is a devoted wife and mother of two teenage boys who enjoys reading historical nonfiction novels, cooking, traveling, and hiking. --- If this episode hits home and you feel you have your own story to share, email Gretchen at lovedasyouarepod@gmail.com. Follow along and contribute to the conversation @lovedasyouarepod on Instagram. Find more from Gretchen Crowder @gdcrowder as well as at gretchencrowder.com.

In this episode, Gretchen Crowder interviews Jean Heaton. Jean Heaton is a blogger, writer, speaker, teacher, and a workshop and retreat leader. Both her husband and son are in long-term recovery and she has worked her own Twelve Step program for those affected by the addictions of others. She shares her experience, strength, and hope with others at www.jeanheaton.com. Check out her book Helping Families Recover from Addiction: Coping, Growing, and Healing through 12 Step Practices and Ignatian Spirituality --- If this episode hits home and you feel you have your own story to share, email Gretchen at lovedasyouarepod@gmail.com. Follow along and contribute to the conversation @lovedasyouarepod on Instagram. Find more from Gretchen Crowder @gdcrowder as well as at gretchencrowder.com.

In this episode, Gretchen Crowder interviews Tam Lontok. Rooted in Ignatian Spirituality, Tam Lontok is a trained and certified international spiritual director, lifestyle photographer, Sisters of Notre Dame Associate, and is completing her last year as an Anam Cara Apprentice at the Sacred Art of Living with an emphasis on the Art of Spiritual Eldering. Tam was Jesuit-educated in Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University for her undergraduate and graduate studies. She writes regularly and serves on retreats with Christus Ministries, an outreach ministry for young adults and families to develop a prayer life, a discerning heart, and a collaborative way of serving and growing in their faith. Tam resides in Los Angeles, CA, with her husband, Greg, and daughter, Ollie. You can find more about her Spiritual Direction at sd.tamlontok.com and more about her photograph at tamlontok.com. You can also follow her on Instagram @sd.tamlonto or @tlontok ------ If this episode hits home and you feel you have your own story to share, email Gretchen at lovedasyouarepod@gmail.com. Follow along and contribute to the conversation @lovedasyouarepod on Instagram. Find more from Gretchen Crowder @gdcrowder as well as at gretchencrowder.com.

In this episode, Gretchen introduces a new type of episode - short Ignatian Examens focused on our belovedness - and concludes the episode by leading listeners in an Ignatian Examen they can return to time and again. ------ If this episode hits home and you would like more Examens like this one, let Gretchen know by leaving a comment or a review on the podcast itself or over at @lovedasyouarepod on Instagram. Find more from Gretchen Crowder @gdcrowder as well as at gretchencrowder.com.

In this episode, Gretchen Crowder interviews Tucker Redding, S.J. Fr. Tucker Redding, SJ, is a recently ordained priest of the Central and Southern Province of the Society of Jesus. Tucker grew up on a ranch in central Texas. He attended Texas A&M University, where he grew in his faith through St. Mary's Catholic Center. There, he was also introduced to the Jesuits and started to discern religious life. He worked for four years at a parish in Houston as a youth minister before entering the Jesuits novitiate in Grand Coteau, Louisiana. As a Jesuit, Tucker has lived/studied/worked in Dallas, New York, Boston, Jamaica, and St. Louis. He earned a Master's Degree in Communication at Saint Louis University and a Master's of Divinity at Boston College. He also worked at America Magazine in video production and continues to work on video projects to promote faith, Ignatian Spirituality, and the work of the Jesuits. He currently serves as the Associate Pastor of St. Francis Xavier (College) Church in St. Louis and works in the UCS Province Communication Office. You can find him on social media @treddingsj. ------ If this episode hits home and you feel you have your own story to share, email Gretchen at lovedasyouarepod@gmail.com. Follow along and contribute to the conversation @lovedasyouarepod on Instagram. Find more from Gretchen Crowder @gdcrowder as well as at gretchencrowder.com. --- Use my special link (https://zen.ai/pqeVhmlF9iMR7vdwWUUtrk5XeF9KydQGxx1BFi2bG5c) to save 30% off your first month of any Zencastr paid plan. Ready to shop better hydration, use my special link (https://zen.ai/pqeVhmlF9iMR7vdwWUUtruTX5fdEGazj0KHbiQmeoY8) to save 20% off anything you order.

In this episode, Gretchen Crowder interviews Brendan O'Kane. Brendan O'Kane is the husband of Anita Maina and is a parishioner, acolyte, and parish council member at St. Ignatius Catholic Church. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland, and currently serves as the Director of Ignatian Mission and Identity at Loyola Blakefield. He just finished a three-year program in spiritual direction and holds master's degrees in Theological Studies and Educational Leadership all from Loyola University, Maryland. He is part of the team that created Companions on the Way which is an online journey with the Spiritual Exercises for Ignatian Educators and Leaders. He has been working in Jesuit education since 2007, is an avid long-distance runner, and occasionally writes his thoughts in his blog - itwillallbok.com ------ If this episode hits home and you feel you have your own story to share, email Gretchen at lovedasyouarepod@gmail.com. Follow along and contribute to the conversation @lovedasyouarepod on Instagram. Find more from Gretchen Crowder @gdcrowder as well as at gretchencrowder.com. --- Use my special link (https://zen.ai/pqeVhmlF9iMR7vdwWUUtrk5XeF9KydQGxx1BFi2bG5c) to save 30% off your first month of any Zencastr paid plan. Ready to shop better hydration, use my special link (https://zen.ai/pqeVhmlF9iMR7vdwWUUtruTX5fdEGazj0KHbiQmeoY8) to save 20% off anything you order.

In this episode, Gretchen Crowder interviews Stephanie Clouatre Davis. Stephanie, an Ignatian trained spiritual director and associate with the Dominican Sisters of Peace, enjoys both youth and adult ministry. In her 26 years of ministry for the Catholic Church, she has directed hundreds of retreats and spoken at many conferences for adults, teens, and young adults. She is a writer for the “Into the Deep” blog, is an Associate Spiritual Director with the Archdiocese of New Orleans Spirituality Center, and has taught in various elementary, high school, college, and continuing education programs. Stephanie has a Masters of Pastoral Studies from Loyola University and lives with her family in Covington, Louisiana. ------ If this episode hits home and you feel you have your own story to share, email Gretchen at lovedasyouarepod@gmail.com. Follow along and contribute to the conversation @lovedasyouarepod on Instagram. Find more from Gretchen Crowder @gdcrowder as well as at gretchencrowder.com. --- Use my special link (https://zen.ai/pqeVhmlF9iMR7vdwWUUtrk5XeF9KydQGxx1BFi2bG5c) to save 30% off your first month of any Zencastr paid plan. Ready to shop better hydration, use my special link (https://zen.ai/pqeVhmlF9iMR7vdwWUUtruTX5fdEGazj0KHbiQmeoY8) to save 20% off anything you order.

In this episode, Gretchen Crowder interviews Jen Coito. Jen was Jesuit-educated in Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University. She has a Masters in Pastoral Theology with a specialization in Spiritual Direction. After working for the California Province of Jesuits and Christian Life Community, Jen and Fr. Tri Dinh, S.J co-founded Christus Ministries, an outreach that bridges young adults and the Church through service, retreats, and leadership formation experiences. Jen also serves the Sisters of Notre Dame in California as the Associate Director of Mission Advancement. Daily life for Jen involves juggling her work with awesome nuns and the constant stream of activities with her husband Jason and her three children. In addition to blogging for Into the Deep, Jen writes regularly for Christus Ministries and a few other projects here and there. You can find all her writings at jencoito.com I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did! ------ If this episode hits home and you feel you have your own story to share, email Gretchen at lovedasyouarepod@gmail.com. Follow along and contribute to the conversation @lovedasyouarepod on Instagram. Find more from Gretchen Crowder @gdcrowder as well as at gretchencrowder.com.